Traditionally the Ancestor in the Fundamento is a direct Ancestor

Traditionally the Ancestor in the Fundamento is a direct Ancestor. In Taino tradition the people put their Ancestor's bones directly in the homes (Bohios) in a guord hung from the roof or made cemis from the skulls and bones of the Ancestors.

Taino Human Skull made into amulet to wear!

Taino Cotton Cemi with Ancestor Skull! Today there are many laws and restrictions in place preventing people from having the access to their Ancestral remains that is their birthright. However there are ways around these problems, such as utilizing the cremation remains (really bone dust) or preserving the skull (or other bones?) intact from the cremation, I know for a fact this is possible in some states. Do the research! It is vital for us to retrieve everything possible that we can in these times. The fact is that most Paleros use Ancestral remains that are not direct ancestors. Some know the names and other details about the Ancestor, others know nothing. The tradition of creating Medicine from Ancestral remains continues today! In this case we can see the adaptation to recognize the land upon which this Cemi was created, nonetheless the principle ingredients remain the same.

To the Bakongo Ancestral remains were so sacred that in fact just the soil from the grave was powerful enough to bring that Ancestor into the medicine (bilongo). Concerning Palo we have a correspondence between the Taino and Bakongo concerning the reverance for Ancestral remains and the active use of Ancestral remains within the Medicines (Nkisi and Cemis) that they used for multiple purposes. Because of the situation today we may be dealing with muertos in our Nkisis that are not within our direct Ancestral line and may not even be from the same country or land mass that we are from. Effectively we are dealing with "strangers". There is a huge difference here that we cannot simply ignore (did I say that out loud- oohps). This requires that we spend more time exploring who is in our Nkisi (or Cemi) and developing a relationship with them. Without putting in this time to develop the relationship we remain in ignorance as to who is in front of us when we are standing in front of the Nkisis. At the same time it is a statement concerning the situation in this world where this chaos has erupted among the Ancestors and the treatment of the Ancestors by the Living. To truly establish a positive relationship with the Nkisi where the Ancestor in it is a stranger, and so that stranger becomes a "friend" is a movement within the earth to heal some of the brokeness of the relationships between the Living and Dead! We also need to recognize that a direct Ancestor can be behind the bringing forth of that Nkisi into one's life. We have witness situations where the Ancestor's remains were not present but the Ancestor's Spirit aligned with the Nkisi and the Mpungo to influence and bring positive things into the relationship. It is important, again, if we are to truly overcome the situation that causes "strangers" to be in our monasu or home that we carefully identify the direct Ancestor and acknowledge that Ancestor when dealing with the Nkisi. It is also important that we do not take for granted that many of the remains that are readily available are torn out of their homelands, shipped around, stored in warehouses and so on and so many of those Ancestors were traumatized in life and in death, so we also must always check where that Ancestor is standing to see if there is an agreement to put those remains in the Nkisi.

These two Cemis clearly show the harmonious interrelation and exchange that occured between the Taino and Kongo in the Caribbean. The essence of the two Spiritualities resonated at that time and continues to resonate today!